A day after announcing it would become a Power Five program by joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024, SMU kicked off its final season in the American Athletic Conference with a 38-14 thumping of Lousiana Tech at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
SMU displayed a potent, balanced offense and a vastly improved defense, holding Louisiana Tech to just 78 yards in the first half and 28 rushing yards the entire game.
SMU got on the board first as quarterback Preston Stone connected with TCU transfer Jordan Hudson, who fought through defensive pass interference, on a 67-yard touchdown strike with 4:25 left in the first quarter. SMU’s defense got in the scoring act when defensive end Kori Roberson tipped Hank Bachmeier’s pass, caught it, and then ran into the end zone uncontested.
Stone connected with three different receivers for touchdowns in the first half to help SMU build a 31-0 lead.
Louisiana Tech put up more of a fight in the second half, outscoring the Mustangs 14-7 and outgaining them 191-146.
Koby Duru caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Bachmeier on the Bulldogs’ first drive in the second half, and Keith Willis Jr. added a late touchdown run.
“I think [Louisiana Tech head coach] Sonny [Cumbie] does a good job,” SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee told members of the media after the game. “They’re going to have a good football team in their league. [I just] wish we would have kind of pushed through and played better in the third quarter than we did, but that’s something we can get over.”
LJ Johnson scored SMU’s only second-half touchdown.
Stone finished the game with 248 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Johnson added 128 yards on the ground.
Bachmeier threw for 241 yards with a touchdown and an interception on 21-of-33 passing.
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WHAT TO KNOW
–- Stone became SMU’s starting quarterback after serving as a backup to Tanner Mordecai for the past two seasons.
— SMU was picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference this season.
— SMU won its last two matchups against Louisiana Tech and seeks to reach a bowl game for the fifth consecutive season.
— The win gives the Mustangs their fifth consecutive season-opening victory.
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BY THE NUMBERS
— SMU is now 14-2 in September since 2019.
— The Mustangs are now 3-4 against Louisiana Tech all-time.
— Lousiana Tech held Florida International to just four passing yards last week. SMU put up 248 in the air and 457 total on Saturday.
— Last season, SMU had six total sacks from its linebacking corps. The Mustangs got three from the group on Saturday, including two from freshman Alex Kilgore.
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WHO SAID
— Stone on the announced move to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024: “Obviously, it’s very exciting, and something that I was very excited for us to get, but at the same time, it’s not necessarily at the forefront of our mind[s]. Our main priority and main focus is trying to do everything we can to bring this university the first championship it’s had in 40 years. We’re in the [American Athletic Conference] right now, so that’s where our heads are at right now.”
— Lashlee on Kilgore’s debut: “He just knows how to play the game, and we think he’s going to have a big year and a big career.”
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NEXT UP
SMU (1-0) travels to Oklahoma to face the 20th-ranked Sooners at 5 p.m. CT next Saturday.